ASK YOUR PREACHER (Number 1)

     Thank you and a pleasant good morning to each of our listeners.
How good it is to have you in our audience. Once again, let me
express my sincere appreciation for the many kind remarks that have
been made to me about this program. I hope and pray that you are
continuing to tell others about the program and most of all that you
will continue to tune in each Sunday morning. That is all that we ask
of each one: please listen with a view to eternity; please examine
the things that are said; look up the thoughts in your Bible; be sure
that what we are saying is indeed founded upon the Word of God.
Because, one day we shall be called to give an account of the things
that we believe and practice. But now to our lesson for the morning.
     Preachers have an important place to fill with respect to lost
souls. God saw fit to use them in making his gospel known, which is
the power of God to save men. Hence, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:21,
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not
God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save then that
believe." Thus, we are told that it God's plan to save men by
preaching. This plan may seem foolish; so it is called "the
foolishness of preaching." But it is God's plan. Remember, however,
that it is "the foolishness of preaching" that God chose, and not the
preaching of foolishness. We might conclude that some have
misunderstood God's plan and have used the preaching of foolishness
instead of "the foolishness of preaching." But in order for God's
plan to be carried out preaching must be done, and preaching is done
by preachers. So, preachers have an important place to fill. In
harmony with this idea Paul said in Romans 10:14, "How shall they
call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear
without a preacher?" In view of such statements we should not
minimize the work of the gospel preacher.
     However, we must not lose sight of the fact that preachers are
required to preach the gospel. Since the gospel is God's power to
save men, the gospel must be preached by the preacher. If he preaches
something else, he is going contrary to the will of God, and what he
preaches will not result in the salvation of the hearers. In fact,
God pronounces condemnation on the preacher who preaches that which
is contrary to divine truth revealed through the apostles. In
Galatians 1:8, we read this statement from the pen of the apostle
Paul, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed." This places a great responsibility upon a preacher and
condemns him if he preaches the theories and doctrines of men instead
of the gospel of Christ as delivered by the apostles.
     Preachers are looked upon as leaders of men; and that they
should be. As preachers are spiritual leaders of men, they are
expected to know more about the Bible than any other class of men.
This is but a natural thing to expect, for preachers should study the
Bible that they may be qualified to preach the gospel to others. When
you have some question that troubles your soul, something about the
Bible that you wish to know, you often turn to the preacher for help.
And if it is something that is found in the Bible, he should be
willing to give his assistance; or if it is not found in the Bible,
he should be able to tell you so. This is the reason I have selected
the title for this lesson -- ASK YOUR PREACHER. I have some questions
that I want to present to you that you may present them to your
preacher to find just what the Bible says. These questions which I
shall present are important questions; they are questions that you
have often thought about; and your preacher should be willing to help
you find an answer for them. Take your pencil and write them down as
we go along. Are you ready? Here is the first.
    1. Ask your preacher where you can find the name of your church
in the Bible. I do not know the name of the church to which you
belong, for I do not know who you are that are listening to me at
this time.  Doubtless many churches are represented among my
listeners today. But you know what church you are a member of, if
any, and you know the name of the church. So just go to your preacher
and ask him to give you the book, chapter and verse in the Bible that
mentions it. If it is there, he will certainly know where to find it;
if it is not there, you, have a right to know it. So ask him to help
you.
     I read the language of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:2 in which he
addresses "the church of God which is at Corinth." And when he made
his farewell address to the elders at Ephesus he said, "Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which
he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). In these two
passages we have reference to "the church of God." Then Paul wrote
Timothy, "But if I tarry long, that you mayest know how thou oughtest
to behave thyself in the house of God which is the church of the
living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
Here reference is made to the "church of the living God." When Paul
wrote the church in Rome he said, "The churches of Christ salute you"
(Romans 16:16). In the area from which Paul was writing there were a
number of congregations, and they were sending their greetings to the
church at Rome. Thus, Paul said, "The churches of Christ salute you."
It is an evident fact, of course, if a number of congregations were
called "churches of Christ," one of them would be a "church of
Christ." Taking all these Scriptures together, we read of the church
of God, the church of the living God, and the church of Christ. These
were not different religious organizations but were simply different
designations for the same body of people. But, is it possible to read
anywhere in the Bible any mention of the name of the church to which
you belong? This is an important matter, for the Bible is our guide
book from earth to heaven, and we should not want to belong to
something the Bible says absolutely nothing about. So, ask your
preacher to help you find the name of your church in the bible. He
should not become offended if you ask this favor of him.
     2. ASK YOUR PREACHER where the bible says the church is not
necessary to man's salvation. So, many times the statement is made
that the church does not save you. Of course, we know that the church
is not the Savior, Jesus Christ is our Savior. But, the statement as
used simply means the church is not necessary to your salvation; that
you can be saved on the outside of it as well as in the church.  Now,
you have likely heard your preacher made that very statement many
times; and as he is your teacher in spiritual things, he should be
glad for you to want to know where to find any such statement in the
Bible. Do you not look upon him as a Bible teacher?  Certainly you
do.  Then, if there is any such statement in the Bible, he should
know where it is; or if he does not, it should not take him but a
little while to find it for you.
     I have often read the statement of Paul in Ephesians 5:23, which
says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the
head of the church, and he is the savior of the body." If you will
read the verses that follow in this chapter, you will readily see
that the term "body" refers to the church. So, Christ is the Savior
of the church. This statement could not be true if he saves men out
of the church and before they enter the church. In that case He would
be the Savior of men out of the church; but, not the Savior of the
church. Yet, Paul says he is the Savior of the church. If the Lord
saves one man out of the church, he evidently saves all who are saved
out of the church. Hence, every person that enters into the church is
saved before he enters. Then how could Jesus be "the Savior of the
church"? It just wouldn't be possible. So, the statement shows us
that the Lord saves those who are in the church, not those who are
not in the church. And, while the church is not the Savior, it is the
entity in which the Savior saves men. We, therefore, read in Acts
2:47, "And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be
saved." Every saved person made up the church in Jerusalem. There was
not a saved person in all that city that had not been added to the
church. And what was true of the city of Jerusalem, has, throughout
the ages, been true of every other place. The Lord has added to the
church everywhere such as should be saved. But in spite of all these
statements, you will hear preachers constantly say that you can be
saved out of the church. If you have heard your preacher say this,
please ask him to tell you where it is found in the Bible.
     3. ASK YOUR PREACHER where the Bible says one church is as good
as another. Perhaps no statement has been made by religious people
more often than this. On every hand, from the pulpit and in the pew,
you will hear the statement: "One church is as good as another; so it
makes no difference which one you belong to." Maybe you have said
this over and over; and you have heard your preacher preach it all of
your life. Then it must be something that both you and he are
interested in, and you should want to know just where the Bible makes
the statement. I am not asking too much when I ask you to ask your
preacher about it, am I?  Surely, your preacher can find what he
preaches in the Bible. Why not ask him? I expect my brethren to ask
me to give book, chapter and verse for what I preach and teach. And I
assure you that they feel free to expect as much.
     In Ephesians 4:4, I find recorded this statement, "There is one
body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your
calling." This passage plainly says, "There is one body."  Who out
there in radio land would deny that the Bible says this? Yet, in the
face of it we have hundreds of conflicting religious bodies in the
world. One body cannot mean two hundred bodies. But, what does Paul
mean by the one body?  In Ephesians 1:22,23, he said, "And hath put
all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church, which is his body." Note this, "The church,
which is his body." So, the body is the church. But, Paul says there
is "one body." Furthermore, when Jesus promised to build the church,
he said, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18). He
did not say, "Upon this rock I will build my churches." He mentioned
only one -- "my church," not churches. If the Lord built but one, and
he certainly did, for that is all he promised to build, then somebody
else must have built all the others. Are we ready to say that any
church that man built is as good as the one the Lord built? This is
what we will have to say if we contend that one church is as good as
another.
     In Colossians 1:18, Paul declares: "He is the head of the body,
the church." Please, look at this passage in your Bible -- Colossians
1:18 -- and see just what it says. I do not want you to take my word
for it, but surely it would be all right for you to read it yourself
and take just what it says. Now, what does it say?" Does it say, "He
is the head of the bodies, the churches?" It just doesn't read that
way in your Bible, does it?  There is the same number of churches
that there is of bodies. And there is the same number of bodies there
is of heads. How many heads? He is THE HEAD. That means just one
head, doesn't it?  And He is the head of the body, the church. So,
according to the apostle Paul, there is one head, one body, one
church. So, if your preacher has been telling you that one church is
as good as another, just ask him for the scripture that says so. And,
while finding that for you, you might ask him how many churches are
mentioned in the New Testament anyway.
     I see that our time has gone, so, let us put a peg just here and
continue this study next Sunday. We have asked three questions for
you to ASK YOUR PREACHER. If he will honor you with some answers,
please let me know. If I have overlooked something, please call it to
my attention and I promise you that changes will be made in what I
teach. Will you be as honest with yourself?
                              --Much of this taken from a tract by:
                                W. Curtis Porter, Cogdill Pub. Co.
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